How old were you when you got your first youngster?

I got Fly when I was 25 and he was 2yrs old, but I had worked with horses for many years and had experience with older horses of my own and others.

I went onto get Ralph as a 4yr old and then William who was a yearling.

Now however, I would get another 4yr old as I cant be doing with anything too young. My next project once my ACL tendon is repaired in two weeks will be a 4yr old Welsh C for riding and driving, something that someone has done some work with.......getting too old at 42
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Hi I got my first younger when I was 15 she was not bought she was an accident lol aunt bought a pregnant arab and didnt know
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I would never have been any good with her on my own but with lots of help from family and experienced peeps it all worked out well she is now 20 and still with me
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My first pony was an unbroken 4 year old. Did everything with her and sold her on when i was 15. (had her a year or so). Then my current mare ive had since she was 4 and i backed her. I love it as all her problems are my problems so easy to work out rather than having to fix other peoples mistakes.

Oh and when i got my first pony i had only helped out at a yard for just short of a year and had been at a riding school for 3 years or so. Ive learnt alot from both my youngsters- and im so glad ive had them. Although i would have liked a little more horse experience as ive definatly learnt along side my horse at the moment.... she is a realy genuine girly though and very forgiving of my mistakes!
 


First pony was killed in a road accident.

Waited a year or so before going to Andoversford horse fair to "look" & came home with a just broken chestnut mare who'd failed to sell in the ring because she'd gone mental. They had to take her out because she was rearing & spinning all over the place.

Chilled as anything out of the ring. Got her home to Cornwall, she paced the field, was a nervous baby. Rode her after she'd settled & she bolted then bucked me off. Got her back/teeth etc checked & she'd had the equivalent of a slipped disc & muscle damage from being broken too young (fully broken by two).

Advised to turn her away for 18 months then gently re-break her. Re-broke her after 18 months & she has been fin ever since although she can't carry top weight & needs light riders.

I was 12, we muddled along & I think learned from each others mistakes, little bit of the blind leading the blind as I didn't have anyone to ask for advice so just read & read & read about breaking youngters etc. I'm 23 now & she's with me for life. Think I can safely say she is my horse of a lifetime. She is the easiest, kindest natured animal I've ever come across, just fizzy. But I wouldn't be without her, even if she is a typical chestnut mare sometimes!
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Depends what you consider a youngster. My very first pony (when I was 9) was a 5yo as was the pony after that. In fact all horses Ive had (Ive had 11 or 12) have been 3 - 5 yo's. One horse was 8, that was the oldest one and TBH he was the only one who didnt work out well! So Ive always had to bring things on as most have been green, but I guess the first one Ive actually backed myself was when I was 20.

Im another fan of young horses. I love bringing them on, it gives so much satisfaction. I much prefer to get them unspoilt so they can me made mine if you know what I mean.
 
14 when I bought a 6mth foal as that was all I could afford. He turned out very well, not bothered by anything except goats & umbrellas! By the time Prince comes to be backed my daughter will be 17 so about the same age as I was.
 
My first pony i got when i was 7, he was a just broken 3yr old new forest pony, everytime i rode him he bucked me off. I kept him for 8 yrs and when i finally sold him he was one of the safest pony you could own and to my parents defence they were completely unhorsey but we did have knowledgeable friends who took us under their wings.
 
When I was about 14 I worked for a guy who had an Arab x Exmoor 3 yr old. He let me break him in and I put loads of work in to this pony and he turned into a very nice jumping pony. He was sold to a nice family that did well on him.

I got my next youngster when I was 16, she was a 2 yr old TB mare, very hyper and bouncy. I backed her and she turned out to be a bit lively to ride but ok, unfortunately she broke her leg in the field as a 5 yr old and was PTS.

I bought Rocky when he was a yearling and I was 21, he was a superstar in every way and we were jumping BN and Discovery's when he was 4.
I bought Axey as a yearling I was 32, he is very highly strung bless him but tries hard, he is working at Elementary/Medium level dressage and is now 6.
 
i was 17 when i got my own, he was a 3 year old bag of bones when i got him. but i'd been breaking youngester with a friend since i was about 14.
 
i was 12 when i got my 5yo justbacked ISH
had a pony on loan before that and been riding since i was 7.she was still WAY too much for me, taught me ALOT the hard way and ive still got her now aged 18.
 
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14 years old - 3 year old:

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He was about 4 in this pic, and spooked by a hot air balloon landing in the next field.
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Is that a hackney? looks very much like one, and due to the cars etc in the background I think they were quite fashionable at that time for jumping ponies.
 
28 when I got a just turned 4yo ex-racer. He's my 5th horse, but far and away the youngest. I've taken things very slowly and had at least fortnightly lessons. He's been pretty straight-forward until recently - got a bit more fesity of late! I've been terribly paranoid about ruining him, and have been a lot more self-doubting than I expected.

ETS: I backed and broke a pony (not my ow) when I was younger, and have schooled on quite a few just-broken ponies/horses, so I felt slightly prepared for what might happen, but I have to say compared to all of them, Ronnie has been a breeze!
 
I was 11 when I got my first pony- he was a 4 year old Irish Connemara, had been backed a month and in England 2 weeks!
Everything was fine, we learnt alot together, and now, at times, I wish I hadn't sold him 5 years ago!
We did everything together, and although I'm from a horsey family, mum did step back and let us get on with it.
We sold him after 3 years, and made 4 times what we'd paid for him.

I miss Flynn!
 
I brought my mare when she had just turned 4 at the age of 21. Hadn't had any experience in bringing on youngsters but with the help of a good instructor and my mare being soooo laid back she has turned into a star
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I was 14 when I got a just broken (weeks) 4yo. He was a very laid back cob and I had a bit of fun with him and sold him after 3 months. He was sweet and I made money, but not what I was looking for. Then still at 14 I got a 6yo TB who had been left out for a year, but I had broken him at 4. He was fab! Did everything with him and we both had so much fun. Sold him 4 years later.
At 17 I got an unbroken 4yo in a bit of a state. He was amazing. I sold him when I was at Uni as I'm not from a horsey family. Still miss him though!
I'm now 27 and about to start looking for another!
I had lots of help around and had been breaking horses since I was 12.
 
I had two yearlings when I was 40 :lol: One was bought for my daughter, then 9. She is 12 _rising 13 lol) and will be getting another this year at weaning, as we sadly lost him at the start of the year.
Other one I eventually sold to my sister and he is now going well and looks fabulous.
 
I got my first youngster when I was 26. She was 3 years old and unbroken. I already had an older horse, but had no experience of youngsters really. I still have her now, 13 years on!! She's fab.

I don't think I could go through it again, though - I don't bounce so well and am a bit of a scaredy cat now!
 
I bought Chancer at 13 months and took him home at 16 months after he was gelded.

I went to buy a 5 year old piebald mare and ended up with a 13 month skewbald colt
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I though very long and hard, I was 41 and have ridden since a toddler.

Chancer being a gypsy cob is about the easiest breed you could get as your first youngster. I would not have bought a high strung TB for my first one. He has taught me so much.

I have had an instructor come out every two weeks since 18 months to make sure I don't screw up.

I was the first to sit on him - and I will never forget the feeling for the rest of my life.
 
blimey i cant remember - we always had youngsters as mum was into her welshies and we bred a couple. My very first pony that was 'mine' was a 2 yr old section A and i must have been about 6, he was broken professionally and he was mine tehreafter - just got on with it, i was a kid who learnt to sit a buck at a young age (quite often got used by mums friends to back their ponies)! Before that though i used to ride his mum! My second pony was a section B, who overlapped the first as we got him as a 2 year old and again same as above he was broken for us and i just got going with him - still have him now 16 years later! Most recently though i got my current mare as a foal, I think i was 19 then, she is now rising 5. I have done everything with her, she is an absolute star and i think the reason she has been so easy is because we really do have a very close bond!
 
22, my girl was 3-untouched. Lots of experience with horse and riding in general but no youngster experience-also my first horse lol!!
 
I was 15 (pretty much 16) and Gov was 3.5 years old and a 16.2hh Dutch Warmblood. He's now rising 8.

He was backed but didn't have an awful lot by way of breaks/steering. He's my first owned horse - so in theory it doesn't sound like a great combo but we haven't had any major problems and he's turned out ok...I hope.
 
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